


never gonna give you up

by clarakent (niewanyin)



Series: Batfamily AOB Week [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alpha Barry Allen, Alpha Bruce Wayne, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Omega Tim Drake, Protective Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake's Missing Spleen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23440138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niewanyin/pseuds/clarakent
Summary: Bruce finds out there's something different about parenting when it comes to traumatized omegas.
Relationships: Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne
Series: Batfamily AOB Week [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1682227
Comments: 44
Kudos: 792
Collections: Batfamily AlphaBetaOmega Week, Gen Batfam ABO





	never gonna give you up

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank zukachi for reading this over! Written for Day Two and **Protective** for Batfamily Omegaverse Week.
> 
> I'm sorry about the title, njw helped put the final nail in the coffin for it. (It's catchy!)

Bruce doesn't quite know what to make of Tim, not yet. He's a good kid, one that he thinks any parent would be proud to have. It's a shame that Jack and Janet aren't around nearly as much as they should be, seeing Tim looking as lost and lonely as Dick and Jason did or Bruce remembers feeling cuts at his heart. At least the Grayson's, Todd's, and Wayne's couldn't be involved in their children's lives, and Bruce had Alfred and the boy's had both of them, but the Drake's have the option of being around. They could homeschool Tim as they travel, give him an education that not many other children will ever have. One of them could try to stay at home so that he has something of a routine, and therefore the times that they both have to go and they can't take him with them, it won't feel like they're _always_ leaving. Or they could stay for longer periods whenever they came home. Or they could call him everyday when it would work in both Gotham and wherever they were for the time. Or they could Skype the boy and bring him back gifts, not just a random postcard every few weeks.

(Or even a letter. Email would be better. Text better still. Just something more than just a few sentences.)

Tim's a good kid, but Bruce will admit that there's one thing with Tim that he's still unsure of, because he's never really had a chance to learn.

How the _hell_ does he parent a young omega? Surely it can't be _that_ different from parenting Dick, an alpha, or Jason, a beta? 

(At least he thinks Jason was a beta, he was past the average age range to present for an omega, but he was smack-dab in the middle for alphas and it isn't unheard of for some omegas to present at fifteen.)

(It's easier to call him a beta than unpresented, because then at least Bruce has something besides vagueness when he thinks about his son.)

He supposes that as long as the Drake's are living, he's not actually Tim's parent, but Bruce also thinks that as the person who's making sure that Tim eats in the morning, gets ready for school, does his homework, and is teaching him how to drive, he comes close to earning that status, especially when the Drake's are under the impression that Tim is still living at their home, taking care of himself.

(He's fourteen years old, no matter how good and responsible a kid, he shouldn't be left to take care of himself.)

But in some ways, it really is. Tim's smaller than he thinks Dick ever was, even when he's had Dick since the boy was twelve and Tim's fourteen. Jason was small too, but that was due to malnutrition, which he was rapidly healing from. Tim is just . . . small. He barely comes up to Bruce's chest, and sometimes, when he's very tired, he curls himself into Bruce's it and falls to sleep, his soft scent filling Bruce with a sense of peace. He doesn't dare move while a child sleeps on him, and he's even more fearful to do so with Tim.

But there is one thing he doesn't expect when Tim wakes up one night, face frowning as he twists on the cot that Bruce had managed to move them to as he wakes up. All he does is mutter an, "I'm going into heat," and it's enough to jerk Bruce's brain to a standstill, and then make it go a million miles a minute as he plans.

"Heat," he whispers, fear in his voice. "Okay, you're going into heat." He glances down at Tim, who's frowning in discomfort. "Do you need water? A stuffed animal? Suppressants?" Clark, Hal, Diana, and Wally are the only omegas that he actually knows, but Bruce has never spent a heat with them. He hasn't spent a heat with any omega. His tastes lie with alpha woman, like Selina and Vicki and Talia. He's trying to figure out what exactly Tim needs, but while he nods his head to the first two suggestions, his face twists into a disgusted grimace as he shakes his head. "Can't have that. I don't have a spleen."

Once again, Bruce's mind stops, and this time, it doesn't start back up. The only thing he can think to say is, "No . . . spleen?" He chokes out the question, his mind trying to fill in all the details of how a fourteen year old somehow no longer has a spleen. "How?"

Tim shrugs his shoulders. "Car crashed with a nanny when I was six. I was okay, she was okay, and it was honestly a miracle that it was the only thing that went wrong. I healed up, everything else is okay with my heats and I take pills to prevent infection, I just . . . can't support suppressants. My body won't allow it." He looks at Bruce, blinking. "You didn't know?"

Bruce might have never gotten around to reading Tim's medical files between cases and the general assumption that Tim was perfectly healthy. Which yes, he is, but . . . no spleen. Bruce has a child in his life who doesn't have a spleen and he didn't know that fact. And that's a very big problem in Bruce's mind. He moves on autopilot, bundling Tim in his arms as he walks up the stairs, mentally apologizing to Alfred for wearing the cowl as he does so. But Alfred will understand as this is Tim who doesn't have a _spleen._

God, why the hell did the Drake's ever let Tim out of their sight?

Tim makes a muffled noise, one that Bruce would actually call questioning, but it doesn't sound scared or like he's in pain so Bruce opts to ignore it, holding the small omega close to his chest and sniffing his hair. It smells like sweat and grime from the streets, and Tim put on a scentblocker before he went out, but scentblockers can wear off quickly for those that can't have suppressants at all. Tim is one of those unfortunate few, so it means that Bruce is able to smell his natural scent easier than he would be able to do with another omega. Raspberries, cinnamon, snow, and roses, all intermingling to create the soft scent of his son.

His skin is itching, and he doesn't know what's going on, racking his mind for the answer until it hits him that this is just being an alpha parent to an omega child. Barry and Arthur have remarked on what it's like concerning both Wally and Garth, but Bruce hasn't realized just how terrible it feels to look at your child in heat and being unsure about how to help them. He had never quite understood why they were making such a big deal about this, but now he knows that he owes them apologies. This is hell.

He takes him to his bathroom, setting him down while Tim looks at him in confusion. "Bruce," his voice scratchy, "what are you doing?"

He would dearly love to know that, but he can't tell Tim that he actually has no idea. His instincts are telling him that he needs to clean-up his son, and then hold him until he falls asleep, but Bruce doesn't know what good it will do. It also doesn't help that his mind is going over everything that can go wrong with a missing spleen. So many infections.

All the infections.

He turns on the bath, testing the water to make sure that it's nice and hot before he makes a move to undress Tim. One that Tim blocks quickly, panic in his eyes. "Bruce," he laughs awkwardly, "I can get undressed by myself." He bites his lip. "How about while I take a bath, you get cleaned up and into pajamas, and then we can . . . figure out what's going on?"

Yes. Yes, that sounds good. Tim's such a smart boy.

This will also give Bruce a chance to call Barry or Arthur and figure out what exactly is happening to him.

He nods, and leaves the room, feeling Tim's questioning gaze on him the entire time. He doesn't blame him, the itching in his skin only gets worse as soon as Tim leaves his sight, and it's only the fact that Tim will think him a madman that prevents Bruce from running back into that bathroom to make sure that Tim doesn't slip and fall in a bathtub of all things.

He can feel how ridiculous he's being, but he can't make himself stop. He just takes the quickest shower there ever was, and then throws on his sweats, hands trembling as he presses in the numbers for Barry's cell. He knows that Arthur is functionally useless to try to get in contact with because a) Atlantis has terrible cell reception and b) he knows that's a lie, he just doesn't like talking to Bruce. Barry's nicer, and will pick up out of obligation.

"What do you need?" Barry's voice comes on, clear and strong and commanding. Bruce can understand it, except for Clark he doesn't really interact with the Justice League on a personal level. Of course Barry is going to think that this personal call is for a mission. Which it is, but not a typical mission. He forces himself to take a deep breath, to ignore the scratching underneath his skin, and begins to speak. "Tim is going into heat, and I am reacting in a way that I don't know how to properly handle."

Silence.

And then laughter. "Oh my God, you're experiencing Tim's first heat, aren't you? At least the first one that you've been around for? Congratulations, Bruce, you're experiencing the magical emotion of overprotectiveness. Just on hyperspeed because you feel yourself as Tim's parent and he doesn't have a stable one in his life, so you're picking up all the slack." He can hear the smile over the phone. "You should have seen me during the first heat Wally had that I was around. The nest I made was _huge._ "

"So there's nothing wrong with me?" Bruce asks, his chest still tightened out of fear. "I'm just . . . overprotective as you say?"

"I mean, it's more than just normal overprotectiveness. When a young omega doesn't have a stable family life, something in their scent gives it away. It's not an actual scent, but it's just a weird tinge to their natural one. You can't smell it consciously, only in the subconscious. It's enough to make any alpha protective, but when an alpha actually sees that kid as their kid? Well, you find yourself where we've both been. Doing everything in our power to remove the subconscious tinge."

Bruce blinks. He's never heard of it but in those terms, but it does make sense. It certainly explains Arthur and Barry's behavior, he knows that Wally and Garth didn't have a stable home-life. He actually helped pay for the lawyer to ensure that Rudy West could never look at his son again. He had just never made the connection, had never thought of it being anything more. He's sure there's studies on it, and Barry answers that question with a soft laugh and a, "I'll send over the studies. But trust me Bruce, this is normal. That itch you're feeling is normal. You want to take care of your son, because that's what he is. He's your son, not matter what genetics or papers say."

Hearing Barry put it so simply forces Bruce to take a deep breath, and actually think about it. Barry's right. Tim's his son. "He doesn't have a spleen," Bruce forces out. "He lost it a few years ago, and somehow it managed to escape my notice, he can't ever go on suppressants."

A moment of silence, and then a genuinely sympathetic Barry says, "When Tim's done with his heat, me and Arthur will take you out for drinks because you're sure as hell going to need it."

Bruce knows that he's fucked, but he just sighs as he thanks Barry and hangs up.

Shit.

He stands up on shaky legs, walking towards Tim's room. He's out of the bath, dressed in his pajamas, underneath his covers, but clearly not asleep, instead just staring up at the ceiling.

The remainder of the scentblocker has been scrubbed off, as well as the smell of sweat and the grime of Gotham streets. It's just Tim's natural scent, and right now, it's the most incredible smell in the world to Bruce. He's dying to wrap himself around the young boy, protect him from everything bad in the world like a father should do, but he can't do it without Tim's permission and he can't make his mouth form the words to ask. But he's trained Tim well, and his son's head turns towards him with a smile.

"Are you still being weird?" Tim asks, and Bruce can't help the smile at the words.

He chuckles. "Probably." He looks at Tim, curled up in his bed. "Do you mind if I hold you?" Tim blinks at him, and fear fills Bruce's heart. "You don't have to say yes," though it'll kill Bruce if he says no, "but I was just wondering if you wanted me to . . . be there for you."

Tim could have done many things. He could have said yes, he could have said no, but he didn't do either one of those things, opting instead to burst into tears.

It was the worst possible thing he could have done. Bruce was not built to emotionally process this. He runs over to Tim, wrapping his little boy up in his arms, not even thinking. He doesn't even attempt to draw back though when Tim wraps his fingers into his shirt, holding on tight so Bruce can't even pull back. "Sweetheart," the word strange but falling off his tongue with ease, "what's the matter?"

"Y-you're the f-f-first person to e-ever askkkkk," Tim sobs out. "N-no one's ever w-w-wanted tooooo."

Bruce imagines punching Jack and Janet's face in, because how dare could they have denied Tim love and support, two things he deserved more than anything in the world?

Bruce presses a kiss into his son's head. "Don't worry. I'm never going to leave you. _Ever._ "

**Author's Note:**

> I'm salazarastark on tumblr as well, so follow me [here](https://salazarastark.tumblr.com/)! I'm not as active as I'd like to be, but I'm always up for talking about my fics or anything else!


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